Throughout the United States and Worldwide, the Mormon Church is opening temples that they claim are a restoration of the ancient Biblical Jewish temple? But the facts prove otherwise. Did you know that not a single ritual performed in the Mormon temple was practiced in the Jewish temple? While Mormonism claims to restore Christianity, it is “another gospel” condemned by God (Galatians 1:6-8) because it requires temple works which make Christ’s sacrifice insufficient for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6).

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MORMON TEMPLE AND THE BIBLICAL JEWISH TEMPLE

Ancient Temple in Jerusalem

IN THE HISTORICAL JEWISH TEMPLE, THERE WERE NO:

No Baptisms for the Dead

No Secret Handshakes and the ONLY person to “pass through the Veil” to the Most Holy Place was the single High Priest once a year.

No Marriage Ceremonies – Women were not even allowed into the inner court of the Jewish temple.

JOHN 10:34: “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” — If God is the only God, why did Jesus say “Ye are gods”?

MORMON POSITION:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the spirits of all humans are the literal offspring of an “exalted man” in Heaven whom they call, “God our Heavenly Father” and his spiritual Goddess wife, known as “Heavenly Mother.” They claim that that every human should attain to be exalted as a “god” in the same way that they claim that God the Father and His wife have been “exalted.” Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism taught:

“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!…I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man.…I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea.…he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did. …Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one degree to another… from exaltation to exaltation, until you… sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.”—Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith,pp. 345-346 Continue reading Did Jesus say that Men can become Gods?→

“What does the word ‘covenant’ mean to Mormons? My LDS friend talks a lot about keeping his covenants in Mormonism. I don’t know what he’s talking about and I would like to know what these covenants are in the Mormon Church. I would like to know what they are for, who they are between and what each party of the covenant has to do in the covenant.” Continue reading What are Mormon Covenants?→

1 CORINTHIANS 15:29: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?”

MORMON POSITION:

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that water baptism by immersion “is the first saving ordinance of the gospel….All who seek eternal life must follow the example of the Savior by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.”(True to the Faith, 2004, p. 21) Baptism, according to Mormonism, is the prerequisite to receiving the “gift of the Holy Ghost” and is a necessary step in the process of being exalted to the highest level of heaven. Believing that non-Mormon dead relatives will have an opportunity to receive the Mormon “restored gospel” in “spirit prison,” Latter-day Saints take it upon themselves to help “save” them by engaging in proxy baptism on behalf of their dead ancestors. Mormon Apostle Bruce R McConkie explains:

“…though held captive in the spirit prison, these prisoners of hope looked forward with desire and expectation to their redemption…a redemption that would be complete only after baptism for the dead had been performed for them in this mortal sphere where there is water.”—Mormon Doctrine, p. 601 Continue reading Mormon Baptism for the Dead→

.:IS JESUS THE FIRST-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD? -Is Jesus the product of a physical act between Heavenly Father and one of His Wives?

PSALM 2:7: “…Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

MORMON POSITION:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that humans have the same origin as Lucifer (now known as Satan) and his “eldest brother” Jesus Christ. Claiming that we are all the spiritual offspring of an exalted Man called “Heavenly Father” and his spiritual Goddess wife, known as “Heavenly Mother,” they claim: “Every person who was ever born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ…so he is literally our elder brother…Because we are the spiritual children of our heavenly parents, we have inherited the potential to develop their divine qualities.”—Gospel Principles, 1995, p 11 Continue reading Is Jesus the first-begotton son of God?→

In his book, The Miracle of Forgiveness, former LDS (Latter-day Saint) Apostle and Prophet Spencer W. Kimball defined the “gospel” of Mormonism as a “code of laws and commandments” by which humans “might attain perfection and, eventually, godhood.” According to Kimball, “this set of laws and ordinances…is the only plan which will exalt mankind.”1. One authoritative LDS Church manual, Gospel Principles, describes the LDS gospel plan this way:

“Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve gave the following illustration to show how Christ’s atonement makes it possible to be saved from sin if we do our part. ‘Let me tell you a story.…There once was a man who.…incurred a great debt.…the day came, and the contract fell due. The debt had not been fully paid. His creditor appeared and demanded payment in full.… ‘If you do not forgive the debt there will be no mercy,’ the debtor pleaded. ‘If I do, there will be no justice,’ was the reply.…The debtor had a friend. He came to help.…He stepped between them, faced the creditor, and made this offer. ‘I will pay the debt if you will free the debtor from his contract so that he may keep his possessions and not go to prison.’…And so the creditor agreed. The mediator turned then to the debtor. ‘If I pay your debt, will you accept me as your creditor?’ ‘Oh yes, yes,’ cried the debtor. ‘You saved me from prison and show mercy to me.’ ‘Then,’ said the benefactor, ‘you will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.’ …Because there was a mediator, justice had claimed its full share, and mercy was satisfied.”—Gospel Principles, 1978, 1992ed, pp. 75, 77 Continue reading Saved or Unsaved?→

.:SHOULD WE TRUST THE BIBLE? —A Response to Mormonism’s Attack Upon the Bible’s Accuracy

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

The Bible is a compilation of 66 books that we call the “canon” (rule or standard) of Scripture. The Bible is divided into two sections: The Old Testament which covers the period of human history from Creation to the Hebrew prophet Malachi in about 445 BC B.C., and the New Testament which covers the period from the Birth of Christ (4 B.C.) to the Revelation of John at about 95 A.D. The majority of the Old Testament was canonized long before Christ’s birth with two marginal books being solidified into the final Jewish canon at the Council of Jamnia in 90 A.D. Most of the New Testament books were accepted by 100 A.D. with the exception of six debatable books that were officially recognized into the Christian canon at the Third Council of Carthage in 397 A.D.1. Continue reading Should we trust the Bible?→

ARE PROPHETS AND APOSTLES FOR THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TODAY? —1 CORINTHIANS 12:28: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets…”

MORMON ARGUMENT:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) points to a number of Biblical Scriptures to contend that God leads the true Church through “Prophets” and “Apostles” just as He did in Biblical times. Thus, Christian churches that do not claim to be led by living “Prophets” and “Apostles” are ridiculed by Mormons as not having the fullness of authority that the LDS Church claims to possess today. Some of the most common Scriptures used by Mormons to support this belief are: Continue reading Are Prophets and Apostles for the Christian Church today?→